After everyone stood in place, the photographer crouched behind the camera. "I'll count down from three. When I say 'one,' you all say 'cheese.'"
"Come on, smile. Three—two—one!"
"Cheese!"
"Ah! Lu Chuanbai, what are you up to again!"
Just as everyone was saying "cheese" and smiling at the camera, Lu Chuanbai took advantage of Xu Qingqing's inattention and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Xu Qingqing was startled and immediately raised her hand to hit Lu Chuanbai on the chest.
The two children standing in front of Lu Chuanbai and Xu Qingqing were tickled and laughed uncontrollably.
The others all looked at Lu Chuanbai and Xu Qingqing with indulgent smiles on their faces.
This photo wasn't as orderly as the photographer had hoped, but it was more vivid and lovely.
Even though Xu Qingqing thought she didn't look gentle enough in the photo, she couldn't bear to ask the photographer to delete it. Instead, she decided to have all the photos developed.
As soon as the news of Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai's engagement was announced, it made the headlines of various news outlets.
Everyone praised them as a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, made for each other.
Lu's father asked his friend to choose an auspicious day, and the wedding was scheduled for January 15th.
There was only a little over half a month left until the wedding. Since Lu Chuanbai wanted to give Xu Qingqing a unique wedding, the preparations were quite troublesome.
However, Lu Chuanbai took charge of the entire wedding planning process, telling Xu Qingqing to take good care of the two children and rest.
Meng Lingyao hadn't received any work for a week. Even when she showed up on video platforms occasionally, she was scolded as a scheming woman, and the response was far from positive.
Meng Lingyao also heard that the new actress her agent was promoting had taken over all her resources. She was completely cornered and finally decided to return to the company to apologize to her agent.
The power dynamic between them had completely reversed compared to the last time they had an argument.
Last time, it was the agent pleading with Meng Lingyao to apologize quickly, but this time, it was Meng Lingyao begging the agent for a chance to make a comeback.
The agent gave Meng Lingyao a piece of advice. "You know Xu Qingqing's job. She's a world - renowned archaeologist. Why don't you buy some antiques and give them to her?"
"Find out what she likes and get on her good side. As long as Xu Qingqing is happy, Lu Chuanbai will surely change his opinion of you."
Meng Lingyao nodded repeatedly. Although she felt heartache about spending her money, this seemed to be the only way.
"But where can I buy antiques? I don't know anything about them. What if I buy a fake? That would be even more embarrassing!"
Meng Lingyao looked at the agent with a worried face, hoping that the agent would offer to help her buy the antiques.
But the agent no longer regarded Meng Lingyao as important. She casually wrote down a website address and pushed it towards Meng Lingyao.
"This is a website where I used to buy antiques when I was negotiating resources for you and giving gifts to big shots. Most of the treasures on it are genuine. You can give it a try."
After saying that, the agent picked up the phone and started arranging announcements for the new actress, completely ignoring Meng Lingyao who was still in her office.
Meng Lingyao gave the agent an angry look and silently cursed her for being a snob, but she had no choice but to grab the website address and leave.
Lu Chuanbai had chosen a bigger house as their wedding home and asked Xu Qingqing to pack up their luggage and get ready to move.
Xu Qingqing planned to sell the worthless antiques she had collected over the years on a second - hand website to make more space for her precious treasures.
While cleaning and organizing, the first item she wanted to sell was a painting she had bought abroad because she found it interesting. It was called *The Montesdamman*.
Xu Qingqing had bought this painting because the plot depicted on it was quite explosive:
The queen was having an affair with a guard, and the king, who had long been aware of it, was hiding under the bed, his eyes peeping out.
After the prince learned about this, he rushed in with a sword, wanting to kill the queen's lover, only to find that the lover was someone he had once favored.
The expressions of the characters on the painting were vivid, and it had the romantic characteristics of medieval European oil paintings.
The painter of this painting became well - known only after his death and gradually gained popularity.
Xu Qingqing had also bought this painting at an auction abroad.
However, because the characters on the painting were too exposed, it was definitely not suitable to hang it at home.
Moreover, Xu Qingqing didn't have the time to maintain it regularly, so she decided to sell it and find a more appreciative owner for it.
Xu Qingqing posted *The Montesdamman* on the website and priced it at 350,000 yuan.
She had bought it for 100,000 yuan at the beginning. As the painter's reputation grew, the value of his paintings naturally increased, and the price would keep rising.
The price Xu Qingqing set was a relatively medium - level price in the current market.
She posted the painting and also uploaded the appraisal report from the auction, in case people didn't believe it was a genuine painting.
Most of the people on the second - hand website were connoisseurs. As soon as Xu Qingqing posted the painting, someone immediately showed interest, and some even bid it up to 400,000 yuan.
Xu Qingqing, who was still busy packing, didn't check her phone. So the people who wanted to buy *The Montesdamman* kept raising their bids, afraid of missing out.
After Meng Lingyao logged onto the second - hand website given by her agent, worried that her judgment wasn't good enough, she hired an appraiser to help her.
As soon as the appraiser entered the second - hand website, he immediately spotted *The Montesdamman* posted by Xu Qingqing. He pointed at the screen excitedly and said to Meng Lingyao.
"Just choose this painting. It's definitely genuine! There's an appraisal report from the Dennis Auction House!"
Meng Lingyao frowned slightly when she saw that the appraiser wanted her to buy it without even looking carefully. She looked at the appraiser suspiciously.
"You're not trying to deceive me, are you? You didn't even look clearly. What Dennis Auction House? I've never heard of it."
The appraiser quickly explained to Meng Lingyao. "The Dennis Auction House is a very formal auction house abroad. All the calligraphy, paintings, and antiques auctioned there are genuine."
"The Dennis Auction House will issue an authenticity appraisal report for the items sold at auction to prevent counterfeiting."
Hearing this, Meng Lingyao believed him a bit more. She saw the price marked by Xu Qingqing.
"It's not that expensive..."
But when Meng Lingyao clicked the mouse and saw the bids from the bidders, she was stunned. She slammed the table hard.
"Are these people crazy? It's just a lousy painting, but they're bidding 1.05 million yuan!"
There were too many rich people in the world who were willing to spend a fortune to collect a painting.
Especially Xu Qingqing's painting, which came with a guarantee. Even if someone bought it and took out the appraisal report from the Dennis Auction House, they could brag about it.
"This painting is too expensive. I don't have that much money to buy it!"
Meng Lingyao sat on the chair sulking and asked the appraiser to find her some cheaper paintings.
"Are you sure you don't want it?"
The appraiser's eyes never left the computer screen. He asked Meng Lingyao eagerly.
"If you don't want it, could you give me five minutes? I'd like to place a bid for this painting."